'The Marriage Ref' (Sun., 10PM ET on NBC) returned with a slightly tweaked format this season. Now, the couples are brought into the studio, and the audience gets to pick which person was the most right and that person will get a billboard in their hometown telling everyone they were right. Oh, and they'll also pocket a cool $25,000.

The most memorable of the three couples was definitely the Johnsons. The wife was frustrated because of her husbands obsession with all things pumpkins, including growing gigantic ones and even naming them.

The celebrities were on his side, though Jerry Seinfeld told him to do something about how ugly they look when they get so big.

Right off the bat, let me give this caveat to my review: Going in, I knew that this was going to be a very difficult episode for the writers of 'The Office' to pull off.

The first degree of difficulty was that the episode was an hour, which is not something that this show has excelled at in the past. The second degree of difficulty was the multitude of guest stars -- as candidates -- parading through Dunder Mifflin Scranton, each with their own character flaws on display.

But the third degree of difficulty is that, without some sort of manager to kiss up to or hate, the atmosphere around the show feels rudderless. It's probably the reason why the episodes in which Deangelo and Dwight were the boss more or less worked, whereas this episode and Michael-less stories from earlier this year didn't.

There was a story here -- the search for a new manager -- and you have a pretty good idea who the most viable candidates for the job are by the end of the episode. But in a lot of ways, this felt like a series of sketches in search of a plot.

While on the surface, 'Talking Funny' (Fri., 9PM ET on HBO) may seem similar to what was happening on 'Green Room with Paul Provenza,' but this special seemed to be even more raw and honest. Perhaps it was the absence of the audience, or the level of the comedians on the show -- Jerry Seinfeld, Ricky Gervais, Chris Rock and Louis C.K. There was just something fascinating about this discussion.

These are masters at their craft, and as revealed throughout the hour, they're also very different in what they do and even why they do it. No stone was left unturned in dissecting how they approach their comedy, nor was any topic off-limits. They even got into a lengthy debate about the N-word.

E.B White famously summed up the general attitude toward analyzing humor when he compared it to dissecting a frog: "Few people are interested and the frog dies of it."

'Talking Funny' (Friday, April 22, 9PM ET on HBO) avoids killing the frog by taking four of the biggest stand-up comedians in the business -- Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Ricky Gervais and Louis CK -- and putting them in a casual setting to interview each other.

Comedy nerds will be satisfied with the level of details, and casual fans will be happy to hear the big names swap stories. The quartet shareS a certain amount of familiarity, with CK being the common connection between them. He wrote the screenplay for the Rock vehicle 'I Think I Love My Wife,' played a supporting role in Gervais's 'The Invention of Lying' and, as Louis mentions in the special, angered Seinfeld when opening for him in Boston years ago. Louis was still making a name for himself, and he introduced Seinfeld as the best comic in the world, something that automatically set up expectations Seinfeld then had to meet.

Back in January, Ricky Gervais skewered bold-faced names more than they are accustomed to being skewered during his now-notorious stint as host of the 68th Golden Globe Awards.

When Gervais stopped by 'The Daily Show' (weekdays, 11PM ET on Comedy Central), Jon Stewart demanded he apologize for one aspect of his Golden Globe performance.

"Here's what you have to apologize about for the Golden Globes," Stewart told Gervais. "Making people like me -- who've also hosted these events -- feel inadequate by being that funny ... It hurt my self-esteem, and I think you do owe me an apology."

There is only one reason David Letterman had Ricky Gervais on 'Late Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS) tonight. It was his birthday and according to Gervais, "It's quite obvious that I am your favorite guest."

Letterman took the sentiment a step further, saying, "In all of show business, you're really the only one I can stand being near."

Gervais then reminisced about his first time on 'Late Show.' "It was the first big American show I've done and it was a short while after my dad died," he said. "And so you sort of became a second father to me."

Ricky Gervais will definitely be gracing American television next season -- but not on that show.

HBO announced today that it has renewed the animated 'The Ricky Gervais Show,' which features the voices of Gervais and friends Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington, for a third season.

'The Ricky Gervais Show' airs Friday nights at 9PM ET, and will conclude its second season next week. The series is based on The Ricky Gervais Podcast, which passed the 300-million-download mark last month, according to HBO.

Since Steve Carell announced his departure from 'The Office' the race has been on to find a replacement for his character, Michael Scott, as the manager of the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin.

Speculation's rife about who will step up to the plate, and just about every guest star in the current season has been linked with the top job. Most recently, we reported that 'Office' creator Ricky Gervais could be taking over from Carell, but now even more names have been added to the ever-expanding list of nominees.

The upcoming Season 7 finale was already set to be a star-studded affair, with Gervais, Will Arnett and Will Ferrell all having booked guest slots. However, according to TVLine.com, yet another comedic trio has signed on for the episode -- Ray Romano, James Spader and Catherine Tate -- and now they're all being linked with the top job.

Is there a grain of truth in the rumors, or is it all just smoke and mirrors?

The rumor mill's been working overtime as the hunt is on for Steve Carell's replacement in 'The Office.' Last week we heard reports that Ricky Gervais would be taking over, and now Will Ferrell's thrown his hat into the ring.

According to UsMagazine.com, the funnyman hinted he might stay at the Scranton branch longer than his scheduled four-episode arc, which begins with the April 14 episode. He admitted it's "looking good" for him to join the series after Carell's exit.

Ferrell, who will reportedly step in as temporary branch manager after Carell's Michael Scott leaves the show, claims he has what it takes to fill his friend's shoes. However, he revealed he does have some changes in mind should he join the series regularly.

"I'd throw it out the window," he joked about the whole outline of the show. "I don't know what they were thinking when they originally cast [Carell]. No, I shouldn't say that!"

Prepare yourself for one of the most squirmingly uncomfortable -- and hilarious -- scenes you'll see on TV this year: David Brent interviewing for Michael Scott's job in 'The Office.'

We reported earlier this week that both Ricky Gervais and Will Arnett will appear in the season 7 finale on May 19. Details of the finale have been sketchy, but Gervais let slip a few tidbits during an interview with BBC Radio 1 in the U.K.

Asked about the beard he's been sporting recently he said "I'm shaving it into a goatee because I'm popping up in the American 'The Office' ... But that was a top secret."

And, although NBC has so far refused to comment on which character will take over as full-time boss of the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin, one U.K. newspaper is reporting that it is David Brent.

Ricky Gervais and Will Arnett are guest starring on the season 7 finale of 'The Office.' Take a moment and soak that in.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the episode is still being written so the roles are still taking shape.

Earlier this season Gervais reprised his role of David Brent from the UK version of 'The Office' and made a brief cameo opposite Steve Carell's Michael Scott. EW's source warned that viewers shouldn't assume Gervais or Arnett will play the new boss of Dunder Mifflin.

In other casting news ...

• Danny Bonaduce, Shannen Doherty and Barry Williams will star in new Syfy TV movies. Williams and Bonaduce will hunt Bigfoot and Doherty will star in 'Gretl' as the long lost sister of Hansel. Syfy is also prepping flicks about zombies and leprechauns. [TV Guide]

• Natasha Henstridge is heading to The CW's 'Secret Circle.' In the pilot, Henstridge will play the vice principal of New Salem High School, somebody who is familiar with the witch coven. [TVLine]

• Elizabeth Perkins will star opposite Michael Chiklis in CBS's 'Vince Uncensored.' The former 'Weeds' star will play Janet, a teacher and wife to Chiklis' Vince. The pilot follows Vince as he starts changing the way he lives his life after a medical problem. [Deadline]

Ricky Gervais and longtime friend Stephen Merchant sent their uncultured colleague, Karl Pilkington to visit the 7 Wonders of the World in the eight-part series 'An Idiot Abroad' (Saturdays, 10PM ET on Science Channel). Pilkington has visited the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids, among other sites, and experienced a host of offbeat adventures. In Saturday's episode (the last of the series), he finally arrived home, but got some troubling news from Gervais.

Apparently, Gervais had some difficulty (uh-huh) selling the proposed title 'Karl Pilkington's Seven Wonders,' and came up with a title that everyone agreed upon. "I want to run it by you," Gervais said." 'An Idiot Abroad'."

Pilkington did a slow burn, telling Gervais that wasn't what they had talked about.